Once In A Full Moon
by Weather Angel
Summary: What was it like for dear young Remus Lupin, growing up young as a werewolf? How did he cope to being a young student at Hogwarts?


**The Woods**

_I walk a lonely road  
The only one that I have ever known  
Don't know were it goes  
But its only me and I walk alone  
I walk this empty street  
On the boulevard of broken dreams  
Where the city sleeps  
And I'm the only one and I walk alone  
I walk alone  
I walk a...  
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
Till then I walk alone_

**–**_Boulevard of Broken Dreams_, Green Day

It was almost time. The young boy could tell as he sat on his bed, staring out the window. The sun was slowly sinking in the sky, shadows growing steadily across the backyard. The boy looked around his small bedroom, which was almost bare. A single bookcase stood against one wall, filled with dozens of dusty volumes, a sparsely adorned bureau, and a small bed that he was currently sitting on.

"Remmy! It's getting late!" Came the voice of his mother from the kitchen. The boy jumped off his bed, heading out into the hall. "I'm coming!"

He walked into the kitchen, hiking his pants up slightly as he walked up to his mother. She looked down at him with a worried expression, smoothing his light brown hair out. "Just remember. I'm going to leave the backdoor unlocked for you. And if you can't make it back in the morning, lay in the open so that your father can find you," she told him, tugging at the old button-up shirt that he was wearing.

"I know, mom," he said quietly, looking up at her. The eleven-year-old had gone through the same routine once a month for the last several years.

Mrs. Lupin sighed quietly, releasing her son. "Be careful," she said, watching as he turned away from her, heading out the backdoor.

Remus walked toward the woods, his face set. Gazing up at the violet sky, he then turned toward the dark forest. _It almost seems ironic,_ he thought to himself. _It's so ironic . . . _

_

* * *

_

His mother had always told him not to go near the woods. And one summer night, several years ago, there had been a small picnic in the backyard. When his mother had gone inside to get more lemonade, and Mr. Lupin was busy with something else, Remus had wandered off into the forest. He had seen something in there earlier, and had been curious.

Walking through the dark trees, he couldn't see much. Suddenly, something had jumped out at him. It looked like a wolf, which were known to be around the woods, but it had stood like a . . . _human_. Remus only caught a glimpse of it before he fell to the ground, unconscious, with the full moon shining down on him.

* * *

Shaking his head quickly, Remus walked into the thicket of trees. These woods held many memories, many of them painful. Weaving his way down the narrow dirt path, he wasn't worried. One would think that an eleven-year-old would be worried, but he wasn't. If anything was going to run amuck in the woods that night, it would be the boy himself.

Remus finally made it near the middle of the woods. Here he sat upon a large boulder, waiting. He gazed up at the dark sky, anxious as he saw the clouds shift, revealing the full moon.

As the silver moonlight fell across his body, he grew rigid. His limbs began to shake uncontrollably, a terrible snarl issuing from him. Remus's head lengthened, as did his body. Shoulders hunching, hair started to sprout visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into claws.

He crouched low to the ground, his yellow eyes glowing. He suddenly threw his head back, a long howl emitting from deep within him.

There is no way for a man to keep his mind once he has become the wolf. It is almost impossible for werewolves to have any place in society. They are shunned, attacked, and killed. Many die before they even reach their thirties.

Living the life of a werewolf wasn't easy. Since Remus was always by himself when he transformed, he would frequently hurt himself or tear at the trees around himself. So far, he hadn't run into a human on his night adventures.

It is amazing how something that we take for granted greatly influences others. _It's so ironic..._


End file.
